


Clearing the Pipes

by vegetablebirb



Category: NCT (Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M, Mild Cyberpunk, Modern/Futuristic, mechanic hendery, mechanic kun, nct world domination, rich boi ten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28776204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vegetablebirb/pseuds/vegetablebirb
Summary: Ten just needs to get his vehicle inspection done. And yet he finds himself returning to the repair shop again and again.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Wong Kun Hang | Hendery
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31
Collections: Challenge #4 — Awaken The World





	Clearing the Pipes

**Author's Note:**

> World Notes: "NEOZONE" is the term most people use to refer to the city. People working in the NEOZONE are divided into sectors depending on their jobs (ex. chefs fall under the Food Sector).

Ten checked the map one more time to make sure he was in the right place. Yup, this was it. He turned off his watch’s holographic display and peered around the shop, unimpressed.

Graffiti decorated the concrete walls on half of the room while a wall of glass arched around the other half of the shop, a few solar batteries suspended by cables stood charging in the afternoon light.

The glare of the sun was irritating Ten’s eyes, so he slid his shades back on.

“Hi! What can I help you with today?” Ten whirled around, and a man in a dark jumpsuit approached him.

Ten tilted his sunglasses down slightly and was nearly blinded by the man’s fluorescent pink hair. Ugh, what a ghastly color.

The mechanic smiled pleasantly. Ten cleared his throat and looked away.

“Hey mechanic, I just need an inspection on my vehicle. My transport clearance will expire in twenty minutes if I don’t get this done asap.”

“Tsk, tsk. First of all, the name’s Hendery, not ‘mechanic’. You can call me Hen, if you want.” Hendery propped the hood of Ten’s vehicle open and began poking around, not a hurry in the world.

Ten ground his teeth in irritation. A notification pinged across his lenses, reminding him _not_ to nash his teeth. He forced his jaw to loosen. “What I _want_ is for you to get this check up done.”

Hendery clicked his tongue and pulled a pair of technical goggles from his pocket. “Alright, jeez. Don’t get your wires in a knot.” He put them on and resumed examining Ten’s vehicle.

Ten could see the green flares of light blinking behind Hendery’s goggles, telling him which parts of the vehicle had passed the inspection. Suddenly, there was a glare of red.

Hendery hemmed in thought, “Your propellers need to be replaced.”

Ten could feel the beings of a migraine tickling the back of his skull, and he rubbed his temples. Another notification blinked across his lenses, suggesting he take a few deep breaths to not cause a headache. Ten pulled off the sunglasses in annoyance. “Propellers are just in case of an emergency. Plus, they look lame. I’m not spending anymore units to replace them!”

“Suit yourself. I’m gonna need your ping,” Hendery said as he turned the face of his watch to pull up a contact form.

“Ha! Fat chance! You’re not my type.”

Hendery shoved his goggles up to rest atop his head and planted his hands on his hips. Ten found it hard to take him seriously with his pink hair sticking up in funny angles. “Sir, we need your number so we can call you when we’re done with your vehicle.”

Ah. How embarrassing.

“Sir?”

“No need! I’ll just wait around.”

“Alright, be done in a jiffy.” Then, Hendery wiped his hands on his pants and disappeared into the back of the shop to grab some tools.

Hendery was going to replace Ten’s propellers whether he liked it or not. He grabbed the replacements that matched Ten’s vehicle. Standard issued by the city. His boss, Kun, had a bowl of miniature plums on his desk, which Hendery promptly dumped into his pockets.

He poked his head out back into the shop. Ten had put his sunglasses back on and was facing a wall near the entrance, so he was probably watching something on the lenses.

Hendery made quick work stripping the vehicle of its old propellers and putting the new ones in place. As he worked, he admired the machine.

Most vehicles nowadays were unfashionably round with a slight point in the front, like a peach pit. Goodbye aesthetics, hello speed.

But Ten’s vehicle was one of those models only the higher uppers working in the NEOZONE and the very wealthy could own. It was vintage design modelled after a Honda Civic from the olden days (of course fitted with the required safety feature and a more aerodynamic body).

“Alright, I’m done!” Hendery called to Ten cheerfully. Ten grunted and placed his palm on the tablet Hendery held out to him to approve the transfer of units. He didn’t even read the charges. Sucker.

“See you soon!” Hendery shouted after Ten as he got into his vehicle. Through the tinted windows of the vehicle, Hendery could see Ten pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. Then, he sped off through the garage doors.

Kun emerged from the digital conference room on the other side of the shop and squinted at Hendery. “Hen, he was a paying customer. Did you scare him away with your annoyingness?”

“Oh he’ll be back,” Hendery said confidently.

“Ahh, I see now. How cute was he?” Kun asked with a grin. He walked over to the windowed side of the shop and began lowering the solar batteries from the ceiling. Hendery helped Kun switch out the batteries with a few other ones that needed charging.

“The cutest,” Hendery replied remembering the man’s huffy impatience and the way he stood out in the heavily graffitied stained repair shop with his white clothing, like a blank canvas. “And rich too,” Hendery added, wiggling his eyebrows.

“And what kinda prank did you pull this time?” Kun swiped a few commands on the tablet and the cables hoisted the solar batteries into position for charging.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Kun rolled his eyes and went into the storage room, probably to fetch his lunch. “You know, if you weren’t the best mechanic outside the NEOZONE, I would’ve canned you a long time ago.”

“Don’t be silly, Kun.” Hendery followed Kun into the back. “Everyone knows you’re the best mechanic.”

Kun smiled sweetly, “Bro, that warms my heart. But I’m still not giving you a raise.” Kun shuffled around some of the stuff around his desk. “Hey, do you know where my plums went?”

“Chicken boy!” Ten screeched, storming into the repair shop. When he caught sight of the pink-haired man, Ten felt his blood pressure rocket even higher. His lenses blinked with several notifications, all reminding him to calm himself before another headache was triggered .

“It’s ‘Hen’,” Hendery corrected brightly, “All hens are chickens, but not all chickens are hens. Unless they’ve been genetically modified. You called?” The mechanic ran a hand through his hair. The act left a smear of engine grease across his pale forehead. Ten felt a muscle in his cheek twitch at the sight. He suddenly became very aware of the light color of his own clothing, and how filthy the shop was.

“You put fruits,” Ten ground out between clenched teeth. “In my exhaust pipes! And I hate fruits!”

Hendery smiled that sh1t-eating smile that Ten was growing to hate. “Aren’t you glad your propellers worked then? I did say you never know when you might need them.”

“Fxxx you! You did this on purpose!”

Hendery crossed his arms over his chest childishly. “Oh yeah? Prove it.”

“I could sue you for this. My vehicle could’ve fallen off a sky bridge!” Ten’s watch buzzed, asking if he wished to ping his attorney, Taeyong. He angrily dismissed it with a swipe. His lawyer would be so upset if Ten tried to sue the mechanic Taeyong had personally recommended.

Hendery rolled his eyes and hooked Ten’s vehicle up to the cleaning machine and queued up the proper settings with a few swipes on a tablet. “And I could say that you tried to rush the inspection, which then caused me to get my clients mixed up.”

“Who the fxxx is asking for fruits in the exhaust pipes?!”

“Eh, some vegan boy whose engine runs on fresh produce,” Hendery replied without a hitch.

“Listen here, chicken boy. I don’t know how stupid you think I am but I know the fuel tank is nowhere near the fxxxing exhaust pipes!”

“Oh-ho, then I’m about to blow your mind. Follow me.”

Hendery led Ten to a vehicle parked on the other side of the room. It was a violent shade of green, the color of boiled broccoli. The hood was propped open and the inner shell of the hood that doubled as a solar panel was cooking in the sunlight coming through the windows.

“I present to you the latest Cinderella model that the transport sect just released earlier this year. Ah! And what do we have here?”

Ten gritted his teeth. “The exhaust pipes.” His glasses notified him to take a few deep breaths.

“Next to?”

“The fuel tank.” His glasses flashed a warning that his heart rate was increasing.

“You see. It must’ve been an honest mistake.” Hendery checked the charge on the vehicle, then slammed the hood shut. Ten sighed, and rubbed his face.

“Chicken boy?”

“Hm?”

“I hate you.”

Hendery answered with a benevolent smile.

Ten’s lens flashed with another notification that his heart rate had settled.

It was scheduled to be an artificial cloudy day, so Ten could finally go about his business without his damn sunglasses. His doctor wanted him to wear the glasses whenever he left home, but Ten needed a break from all the notifications. His watch would do just fine at monitoring his vitals.

Ten didn’t have a project lined up, so he wandered around the city aimlessly for a good half of the day before his feet unwittingly brought him back to the repair shop where the annoying mechanic was.

“Hey, you’re back!” Hendery exclaimed excitedly. “I have a present for you today.”

He jogged into the storage room and returned holding a bundle of plastic. Hendery passed it over to Ten. Ten let the plastic fall open with curiosity.

“What is this terror to fashion?” Ten asked with a blank look.

Hendery wore an expression of undisguised pride. “I believe they called it a ‘raincoat’ in the olden days. It’ll protect your clothes, since I noticed you felt uncomfy the last couple of times you came around.”

“Alright then.” As he slid the raincoat on over his clothes, Ten wondered if Hendery had bought the garment in hopes that he would return to the shop.

“You look nice,” Hendery said conversationally.

“I look nice in everything,” Ten stated.

Hendery laughed, and Ten thought he had nice teeth. Would’ve made a fine dental model. Ugh.

“So what brings you here today?”

“Um...” Ten didn’t actually have a reason for visiting the repair shop today.

“Wait! Before you answer, I wanna show you something cool. Come on,” Hendery grabbed onto Ten’s wrist and hauled him behind a row of lockers into a small, private workspace hidden from the general view of the repair shop.

Ten’s watch pinged him with a notification that his heart rate was rising unsteadily. Ten shoved his hand into his pocket, hoping Hendery hadn’t seen that.

“Tada,” Hendery let go of Ten’s wrist and gestured to an intricately assembled clump of metal hung up on the wall.

“What is it?” Ten asked, looking at the delicate contraption with interest.

“Some wings the Entertainment Sector commissioned us for. Something about a music video I think. Kun and I have been working on it for like a month now. Pretty cool right?”

“Yeah...really neat.” Ten blinked, suddenly finding it hard to speak. His head throbbed lightly, the words _music video_ reverberating in his skull. His watch pinged with another notification, reminding him to not agitate the trauma any further and take a few deep breaths.

He stamped out the longing growing in his chest. Ten’s head hurt, and his vision blurred. Ugh. Stupid “impaired” vision. Stupid damaged nerves, stupid leg “injured beyond repair”, if the accident hadn’t happened at the time he might’ve been-

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Hm? Nothing.” Ten peeled his gaze away from the metallic feathered wings on the wall. “Chicken boy, do you have any dreams?”

“Me? I’ve got no dreams. I’ll probably just take over the mech shop when Kun leaves.” Hendery chuckled and stuck his hands into his pockets. “Kun’s got dreams though. He’s been trying for years to become a chef in the Food Sector.”

“Do you think he can do it?”

“I _know_ he can do it. Kun can even make freeze dried food taste good.” Hendery said proudly, as if he’s the one that’s the aspiring chef. It was endearing.

They stood silent for a moment.

“And what about you?” Hendery asked, breaking the quiet.

“What about me?”

“What are your dreams?”

Ten inhaled sharply, feeling a pinch on the back of his neck and throb of pain shoot through his leg, a phantom of the painful memory. He didn’t meet Hendery’s curious gaze. “My dreams...”

Ten’s watch buzzed incessantly with a notification. A last minute meeting had just been scheduled. Ah, saved by the boss. “I gotta go, work just called.” Ten pulled off the raincoat and handed it back to Hendery. He made a beeline for the exit.

“Come back soon!” he heard Hendery call after him. Ten rubbed the back of his neck. The pain was gone, but he was feeling hot all of the sudden.

About a week later, Hendery had returned from his lunch break and was helping Kun go over inventory when Kun suddenly said, “Hey, that pretty boy of yours swung by earlier today.”

“Who? Ten?” Hendery asked, noting down the number of spare propellers.

“Yeah, that one. Turns out he’s some hot shot designer in the Fashion Sector. He brought over a commission for us and dilly-dallied around waiting for you until he was called back to work.”

Hendery groaned, “The one time I go out for lunch!” He sighed dramatically, “When will I see him again?”

Kun raised an eyebrow, “You know, since we have that commission he’s probably gonna be swinging by at least once a week to check up on progress.”

For the rest of the week Hendery made sure to stay in the shop during his lunch breaks. He even paid for groceries with his own units so Kun would cook for him. Kun poked fun at him relentlessly.

Finally, Ten returned to the shop five days later, around closing time.

“Hi,” Hendery greeted him eagerly. If he was happy to see someone, he wasn’t about to hide it.

Hendery could see Ten blink behind his shade before his face softened. It wasn’t quite a smile, but the stiffness that normally adorned Ten’s expression seemed to melt away.

“Hey,” Ten replied.

“Here to check on the commission?” Hendery asked.

Ten gripped the sleeves of his shirt and Hendery noticed for the first time that he was wearing dark clothing instead of the normal light colored garments of NEOZONE higher ups. Hendery’s heart pitter-pattered at the sight.

“Um...yes,” Ten grimaced and pulled off his sunglasses. It was the evening, and the sun had mostly gone down. The lights in the shop weren’t too bright either.

The two of them briefly chatted about the commission and its progress. Hendery stopped in the middle to close the shop.

“Hey chicken boy…”

Hendery looked at Ten expectantly. “Yeah?”

Ten swiped a few times on his watch. Dismissing another flurry of notifications about his erratic heart rate before he found what he was looking for.

“So I’ve decided that you are my type. Here’s my number.” Ten sent the ping to Hendery’s webspace listed on the shop’s location tag.

“Yes, it’s my personal number- don’t look at me like that!” Ten could feel the color rush into his cheeks at the sight of Hendery’s sh1t-eating grin. And he resented himself for admitting that the sh1t-eating grin was actually cute.

“Aye, you actually wrote out your number for me? So old fashioned.”

Ten scowled, “I’m not old fashioned! I even drew you a chicken!” He pointed at the moving image on the ping Hendery had pulled up on his watch’s holo display. There was no use trying to preserve his aloof image now. He was too far gone.

(So sue him, this guy was really hot.)

“Just for you, chicken boy. And it even dances.” Too late does Ten realize he was rambling and quickly shut up.

There was a pause.

“Did you draw this _before_ you came over to the shop today?”

Ten froze. Fxxx fxxx fxxxity fxxxfxxx.

Hendery must’ve read the horror on Ten’s face. “Oh my god! You did! You prepared for this ahead of time and everything! That’s so cute!”

“Ping me some time. Or don’t. I don’t care! Argh, this is so embarrassing,” Ten managed to stutter out. He turned to make a dignified exit from this shop and resolved to never return.

Hendery caught Ten’s arm and pulled Ten back around to face him. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.

Ten smiled shyly and looked around the shop at anything but Hendery. It was the first time Hendery saw Ten smile, and it was so cute he could’ve died.

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Hendery asked, feeling his heart swell with affection. ”I think Kun’s cooking something spicy tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's implied that Ten used to work in the Entertainment Sector before an accident happened and he was forced to transfer to the Fashion Sector due to his health.  
> I will probs post a small bonus snippet with some more details about Ten's past once reveals are over.
> 
> [Updated]: you can now find the bonus extra [here](https://twitter.com/vegetablebirb/status/1356658495123251200?s=20)  
> (thank you to everyone who read the fic and left kudos/comments ~🌻)


End file.
